


Aurora Borealis

by bad_ash10



Series: Christmas Time is Here [6]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hope, Northern Lights, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:34:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28575345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bad_ash10/pseuds/bad_ash10
Summary: Seeing the Northern Lights from the cockpit of the Bus inspires Skye to tell May a little about her childhood and why she decided to stay with Shield.
Relationships: Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson
Series: Christmas Time is Here [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2042866
Comments: 9
Kudos: 66





	Aurora Borealis

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, I wrote this before Christmas and am just posting to be able to move it from my WIP folder to my completed folder. Hope some of you like this!
> 
> -
> 
> Set sometime in season 1.

Skye blinked a few times in the darkness of her bunk, trying to figure out what had awoken her. A moment later, she heard someone moving in the kitchen.

A quick glance at her watch told her it was probably May. Their sleep schedules were all a wreck after crisscrossing the globe on one mission after another, but somehow May was always up by 5, regardless of the time zone or the jet lag.

Skye tried to go back to sleep after she heard May’s soft footsteps pass her bunk a few moments later, but she ended up tossing and turning for a while. Eventually, Skye just wrapped herself in her blanket and headed for the cockpit.

“May?” she called softly. “Can I sit with you?”

Skye wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw May nod slightly in the dim lighting, so she curled into the co-pilot’s seat, pulling her legs up into the chair and shivering slightly against the chill in the air.

It was still dark outside the windows, but May’s face was illuminated by the various lights and switches covering the control panels. She was looking out to the horizon, not betraying any emotion, as usual.

They sat in comfortable silence, Skye glancing out on the horizon until she soon felt herself dozing, lulled to sleep by the dull roar of the wind outside the plane.

* * *

“Skye,” May whispered. “Skye!” she said, louder this time.

She jerked awake. “What?” she said blearily, as she blinked to clear her vision.

“ _Look_ ,” May said with a nod out the front window.

The dark sky was illuminated with waves of green, and teal, and even some shades of pinks and purple in a few places.

“ _Oh,”_ Skye breathed. “It’s _gorgeous_.”

May hummed in agreement. After a moment, May turned to her. “Have you ever seen the Northern Lights before?”

Skye shook her head, keeping her eyes on the swirling waves of light outside the window. “I’ve always wanted to after I watched this movie as a kid. It’s about this…” Skye paused. “Well, the plot of the movie isn’t important, but I really liked it. One of the nice foster families took me to see it in the movie theater right after I got placed with them. I was... I dunno, maybe six?” Skye pulled the blanket tighter around her, thinking of a few of the more miserable times from her childhood. “Looking back, it just came at a time when I needed some hope, I guess.”

May turned away, watching the lights herself now, or maybe giving her some privacy, Skye wasn’t sure. “What was the movie?”

Skye blushed. Was she really about to tell Melinda May about a cartoon? “Oh. It was called _Balto._ Some cartoon about a wolf-dog who runs with a sled team to get medicine for their town in Alaska.”

“And that made you want to see the Northern Lights?” May asked skeptically.

Skye chuckled. “Well, see there was this scene where Balto shows his dog girlfriend- “May arched her eyebrows in question. “Kids’ movie, May. It’s not weird for a dog to have a girlfriend. Anyway, Balto can replicate the lights with broken shards of colored glass and a lantern, and then his girlfriend uses the same trick to guide him back to the town when he gets lost.”

“Hmm. I see,” May said with a smirk. “When’s the last time you watched it?”

“Umm… I think middle school. The route the dog ran was actually what they now run for the Iditarod, and since it was based on a true story, my teacher convinced us it was relevant to class. But I think he just didn’t want to lecture.”

Melinda nodded and looked out on the lights once again. After a moment, she spoke again. “You said you needed hope?”

“Yeah. The dog? Balto? He’s a stray – no parents, no family. But he still helped people. And now there’s a statue of him in Central Park.” Skye glanced at May, who was still staring out at the swirl of emerald out the front window. “I think it let me know that I could still be _something._ I mean, don’t get me wrong, I don’t want like, a _statue,”_ Skye couldn’t stop rambling. She’d never told anybody else this before, but she knew she could trust May. “But if a stray dog could save a bunch of people in the middle of winter in Alaska, then surely I can do something worthwhile with my life, ya know?”

If Skye hadn’t been watching, she would’ve missed the almost imperceptible nod that Melinda gave her.

“That’s why I joined the Rising Tide and then you guys. I just want to do something to help make the world _better._ I want to do something _purposeful._ ” She looked down, suddenly self-conscious for opening up to this woman she hardly knew.

“Sorry, we can just watch the lights, now. I know you don’t do the whole ‘feelings’ thing.”

“No, that’s why I joined Shield, too.” May offered her a small, rare smile. “I get it.”

* * *

Two weeks later, they were finally getting a short break from their constant travels- some mechanical thing needed to be checked or replaced. Honestly, she stopped listening when Coulson told them they could have a couple of days off. She wasn't sure what she would do with her time off yet, since Fitz and Simmons were both going back to the U.K. to visit family.

She was headed to her bunk to pack some clothes and a swimsuit- maybe if she was lucky she could find a hotel with an indoor pool- but stopped short as she saw a DVD case and a small envelope on her bed. Those definitely hadn’t been there this morning.

_No… Surely it couldn’t be._

The cover of the DVD though proved it was – _Balto_ was printed under an image of the grey, cartoon dog that she recognized from her childhood.

Although she knew who the note was from, she ripped it open quickly and began to read.

_Skye,_

_I watched this to see what all the fuss was about – not bad for a kids’ movie._

_Consider this an early Christmas gift. Enjoy._

_-May_

**Author's Note:**

>  _Balto_ is a real movie that I loved as a kid. In college, my friends and I rediscovered the movie and quoted it for... well a long time. 
> 
> Also, somehow I didn't ever get to see the statue in Central Park though. I've taken two short trips to NYC and never had time to explore the park. One day though!


End file.
